Before Carlos Gonzalez belted his sixth home run of the season in the first inning on Thursday night, a foul ball dealt him what was later diagnosed as a left index finger contusion.

Gonzalez was replaced with pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes in the fourth inning of the Rockies' eventual 7-4 victory over the Mets, but neither he nor the Rockies believe the injury to be serious. The finger was still swollen by game's end, but it had already improved.

Gonzalez suffered a ligament strain of his right middle finger last July, and it severely curtailed his playing time and effectiveness. Thursday's injury, he said, was nothing like that.

The Rockies announced that his availability would be assessed day to day, but manager Walt Weiss doesn't think the outfielder will be out of the lineup for long.

"It's just, when you get jammed, it hurts really bad," Gonzalez said. "But it's something that will go away, not like last year. Last year was a ligament. That was a tough one, when you have to play with a bad finger like that. This one, it happens."

The home run, off Mets starter Bartolo Colon with two out in the first inning, was Gonzalez's second in the last two games -- after he had gone homerless since April 11. But the finger was already becoming a problem.